Recession how are we all coping in NI?

blondette31

Hi all,

Just wanted to see how everyone else is coping with the recession in NI and wondering how we will all cope when the changes like VAT and many other cuts come into place in the new year.

Personally we have found the housing market a disaster after having our house on the market for over a year. We had plenty of interest but mainly first time buyers who just could not raise large deposits needed. If we had of bought the house we wanted we would however be in negative equity so lucky for us ours didn't sell!!

The Company I work for are linked to the construction industry and have taken a huge hit and are in severe financial difficulties which I'm not sure they'll be able to get out of this time!! Fingers crossed they will but think they'll need a miracle! I'm the last remaining admin employee so just sitting tight and hoping for the best!!

I'm dreading the new year when it seems we will all be hit hard in the pocket!!

RTNI

I know one of my close friends has been unemployed since the end of March. He is an engineer and has been looking for work and attending a lot of job interviews but having no luck. He is living at home with his parents, so he doesn't really have any major outgoings that I know of, but I do feel sorry for him.

I wish everyone luck in what could be a very difficult end to 2010 and 2011 IMO.

maveli

If the low interest rate is due to recession then I am doing well. 0.73% interest on my mortgage

Old_Git

maveli wrote: »

If the low interest rate is due to recession then I am doing well. 0.73% interest on my mortgage

my mortgage rate is now a masive 0.68% :j.I know it wont last but it has helped me bigtime .

x12yhp

The truth is that we have not really been hit by the recession. We had become used to big profits in housing and this fuelled a lot of people in having a really good time. On the whole, it is this money that has been removed and most people are just back to normality. The coming winter may well spell a change and the reality of a recession.

Just as an incidentally... those low mortgage rates are doing harm as well as good. Yes, homeowners are more likely to be able to afford the repayments but it also means that they are, for now, 'waiting it out'. If you add on top of this that few believe rates will stay low, this means that banks need good deposits and buyers are wary about what they can 'afford'. This just means nothing is happening, volumes are tiny and we really have no idea what might happen. If prices have not corrected by the time rates have to rise then there is the potential for a bloodbath as repayments multiply and people are now forced to sell. This is perhaps the gamble that was taken. Encourage a slowish decline in prices to a level which is sustainable. Unfortunately it does not work if everyone just waits it out...

Artofdookie

Being totally honest i havent noticed a difference

NAR

x12yhp wrote: »

The truth is that we have not really been hit by the recession.

Tell that to someone who bought property in 2007 and has seen it drop in value by 40% or more.

That said, like in any situation, there are winners and losers. My mortgage payments are low and I am hopefully going to overpay for the next three years. I have also had several holidays in the last two years which had no impact on my finances, which would not have been the case 5 years ago.

Phoolgrrrl

Pants. My contract wasn't renewed last sept so worked part time in a shop for 10 months. Now in a low paid data input job. OH spent most of past year on a 3 day week, then was laid off in June, now is in a minimum wage shift job, much worse terms, earning abt 6k a year less.
We both have degrees, I have a professional qualification, and we are in jobs that only require GCSE's. There isn't much better to apply for.
We earn less together now than I would have been earning if contract renewed.
We got married in August and are renting instead of buying a house as planned.

Hopefully it will not affect the new public sector job I've been offered pending funding! And maybe if I get this we can look for a house and get one cheaper than before. Meh.

x12yhp

NAR wrote: »

Tell that to someone who bought property in 2007 and has seen it drop in value by 40% or more.

That said, like in any situation, there are winners and losers. My mortgage payments are low and I am hopefully going to overpay for the next three years. I have also had several holidays in the last two years which had no impact on my finances, which would not have been the case 5 years ago.

That is not a function of the recession. That is someone who bought miles above where the market should have been having been caught up in the 'hype'. In practice, these drops in price are all on paper. The volume of sales is absolutely tiny so very few people are actually realising this potential loss. Until they actually sell, these people are better off than when they bought because they are not paying as large a mortgage!

Moreover, if you actually look at the market, the vast majority of properties have not moved anywhere near 40%. Because IRs are low, most people are staying put and not realising any potential loss. Until someone is forced to sell, they cannot really complain about a 'paper' loss because it actually makes zero difference to them.

x12yhp

Phoolgrrrl wrote: »

Pants. My contract wasn't renewed last sept so worked part time in a shop for 10 months. Now in a low paid data input job. OH spent most of past year on a 3 day week, then was laid off in June, now is in a minimum wage shift job, much worse terms, earning abt 6k a year less.
We both have degrees, I have a professional qualification, and we are in jobs that only require GCSE's. There isn't much better to apply for.
We earn less together now than I would have been earning if contract renewed.
We got married in August and are renting instead of buying a house as planned.

Hopefully it will not affect the new public sector job I've been offered pending funding! And maybe if I get this we can look for a house and get one cheaper than before. Meh.

That is NI for you. I could name you half a dozen individuals with professional qualifications and doctorates who are on JSA because there is nothing out there....

Phoolgrrrl

Yea x12yhp most of my peers have gone back to uni or done a pcge cuz no other jobs. Also benefits didn't work for us, as OH was working 24 hrs a week I wouldn't get JSA, regardless of what he actually earned. The don't count ther most recent tax year and you have to have 2 years qualifying Nat Ins to get cont based, so even though I had worked full time for 2 years I didn't qualify cuz the didn't count the 2nd year till after april this year. So goin by that reasoning a person working 24 hrs min wage earns enough to support a couple.